If you have ever wondered where you could find a few extra dollars to put toward savings, look no further than your couch or cup holders.  Did you know that there are over $10 billion dollars in loose change sitting in homes and cars across the U.S. not earning a nickel of interest?  That breaks down to approximately $99 of loose change per household!  For October, put on your miner's hat and start gathering those coins up and get those coins working for you. 

Here are some ways to save using loose coins:

 Always use whole dollar bills to pay for purchases and never use loose coins.  Store all the change you collect in a jar or mug and deposit it each time it gets full.

 Keep a small piggy bank next to the washer and dryer and collect the coins you find left in pockets.  Use a bank with a slot so that other treasures lost in the laundry don't get thrown in with the coins. 

 Work on the idea of "out of sight, out of mind."  Round up to the next dollar when you make a deduction in your checking account.  At the end of the month, transfer the difference between the actual amount of your purchases and the amount you enter.  (e.g. You purchase 15 items for $1.35 each but mark in your checkbook register that you paid $2.00 for each and forget about it.  At the end of the month, you will have $5.25 saved.) 

 Locate a very large jar, vase or box and make it a family mission to fill the box with coins.  When it is full, use the proceeds to do a fun family activity or add it to the vacation fund.
    Kids are excellent coin scavengers, especially when it means an extra ice cream cone or two. 

Make it a goal to find and save $.25 a day.  Once you start looking, you'll be surprised how many dimes and nickels you will find on the sidewalk, on the floor of your car, or in long-forgotten winter coats.  Saving only 25 cents a day will get you $91.25 in a year. 

And the best way to use coins to save is to get them into a savings account and let them work for you.  If you're going to have all those pennies and nickels lying around anyway, might as well let them lie around and earn interest while they're at it!

October 14-20 is Hancock Saves' Count Your Coin Week and we want to help you put all those coins to use.  It seems like a shame that so many coins should be left to collect dust in your car and couch so we want to help you get them into the bank.  Take your coins in for free counting during Count Your Coin Week and you could win a $500 debt payoff voucher.  Got a credit card you want to pay off or a car loan that could use an extra payment or two?  Deposit your coins in any of our participating financial institutions and you could be the debt payoff winner!  Kids who deposit coins can register to win a $100 savings bond or prize basket.  Check out www.HancockSaves.com or contact Angela Crist, Hancock Saves Program Coordinator for more details.  For October, the key to saving is keeping your eyes the sidewalks, pants pockets, cup holders, desk drawers, couch cushions, junk drawers…